Girl Meets Baby Shower
by Qwert Poiuy
Summary: It's Riley's first baby shower, and Maya couldn't be happier for her best friend. It's one particular guest that Maya isn't so thrilled about. What happens when someone Maya has been avoiding for years suddenly reenters the picture? Will she forgive him? (Joshaya-centric)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello lovely people! I am back at it again with my Joshaya stories. I plan for this to be a two-shot, and the second chapter is currently in the process of being written, so I hope for that to be posted within a week. For this story, the main six are 24 years old, and Josh is 27 years old. In any flashbacks for this chapter, Maya is 18, and Josh is 21. Anything written in italics is a flashback. I have included Rucas as part of the story, but for this two-shot, the only ship that really matters is Joshaya, so if Rucas is not your preference feel free to change that in your mind. Other than that, I hope you enjoy! :)**

Maya looked around at the bustling dining room, filled to the brim with friends, family, old teachers, people she hardly even knew, all looking just ecstatic and ridiculously formal.

Maya would be lying if she said that she wasn't excited about her best friend's first baby shower, but she also couldn't hide the sadness she felt deep down. Looking at all these people, their lives figured out and moving towards new phases, Maya couldn't help but feel that she had been left behind in the dust.

Despite baby showers typically only being women, Riley and Lucas had insisted that the party include both the important men and women in their lives. This just amplified the hurt for Maya. Riley and Lucas were about to have their first child, Farkle and his wife already having two of their own. Smackle had just recently gotten married, and Zay and his girlfriend were not far behind, everybody predicting that the pair would be engaged before the year ended. So where did that leave Maya?

As she saw Shawn, who she now considered her father, approach, she couldn't help but smile. He was always the first person there for her when she was down, never hesitating to take action.

"What's got you down, kiddo?" he said, sitting down, putting a loving arm over her shoulder.

"It's nothing, dad. Really." Maya said, trying to reassure him.

"Maya, I've known you long enough to know that whenever you say, 'It's nothing, dad.' it's probably important. So spill." he said. She didn't even know why she bothered trying to convince him. Nothing ever got past him.

"I don't know. I guess I just kind of feel left out. You know Lucas, Riley, and Farkle are already in the parenthood stage, Smackle just got married, Zay isn't far behind. I don't know. I just feel like the universe kind of just forgot about me when it decided things for me and my friends." she said, fiddling mindlessly with the table cloth.

"Hon, I know what you're going through. I went through it when Cory and Topanga got married and started having kids. And like I told you girls when you were in high school, I had to learn that I didn't want what they had. It was hard to get there, but it was the truth. You have to stop beating yourself up over the fact that you don't have what your friends do. You are a beautiful, intelligent, wonderful young woman, and one day some guy is going to be the luckiest man in the world to have you." Shawn finished, giving Maya a tight squeeze.

"Thanks, dad." Maya whispered with a smile. "I'm gonna go find Riley."

"Atta girl." Shawn said with a smile.

Maya found Riley exactly where she had expected: the food table downing more pickles than Maya thought could actually be appetizing. She was talking with her mom and grandma, making happy conversation about how lovely of a shower it was so far. Riley, of course, couldn't help but shower Maya with praise; she had planned most of it after all.

"So Maya, any men in your life?" Amy asked.

Maya internally sighed, knowing that Amy was just trying to make conversation, not poke at the fact that Maya was practically the only single one at this party.

"Unfortunately, no. But I'm not giving up hope just yet." Maya said with a forced smile.

"Oh, good." Amy said, brushing her hand on Maya's cheek. "I know Josh is very excited to see you."

This caught Maya off guard.

"Josh? Josh is coming?" she questioned.

"Of course, Maya. Why wouldn't I invite Uncle Josh?" Riley asked.

Maya could give Riley eight or more reasons why she wouldn't have invited her Uncle Josh.

"I don't know. I just figured everyone was here already." Maya said, a lame excuse.

"He had a meeting in Philadelphia this morning, but he should be here soon." Amy said with a smile.

"Great." Maya said, as enthusiastically as possible.

Only Topanga picked up on Maya's false excitement. Amy didn't know any of the story, Riley knew it but had been told by Maya that it was now 'water under the bridge'. Topanga was the only one in this group, scratch that, at the entire party who knew both the entire story and the raw feelings Maya still had leftover.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get a drink." Maya said, suddenly parched.

She went over to the drink setup, knowing there wouldn't be alcohol, but wishing that someone would pull out the strongest bottle of whiskey this joint had. She settled on a big glass of sparkling cider, the closest she could get to a drink with any semblance to an alcoholic beverage.

"You okay?" Topanga said, suddenly appearing near her. "I know Josh is kind of a sore subject."

"I'm fine. I'll be fine." Maya said, another sip of her drink gone.

"Hon, it's okay if you're not." Topanga whispered, rubbing her back.

"It's really okay, Mrs. Matthews. I was just... shocked is all. I haven't seen him in so long, ya know?" Maya whispered back.

"I know. Well I'm right here if you need me, and if you get overwhelmed and need to slip away for a bit, I've got you covered, alright?" Topanga said, putting a strand of Maya's hair behind her ear.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. Really." she said, giving her most convincing smile.

Topanga squeezed her hand before wandering to find Cory.

Maya made her way back to Riley who had now found her way to their friends. The six of them joked around, talking just like they used to and just like they always would.

Maya heard Riley's phone buzz before anyone else did, and Riley pulled it out to check it.

"Oh! It's Uncle Josh!" she said answering it. "Hello? Hi! Yeah, you're at the right place. Uh huh. Yeah. Yeah, just come inside and tell them you're with the Friar party, and they'll direct you. Awesome. Okay. See you in a minute. Love you!"

Maya felt her stomach turn. How long had it been since she'd seen him? A year? Two? Maybe even three? How many since that fateful day? Five, maybe six? She felt a little silly still trying to avoid him. Anybody else would have been over it by now, but Maya knew she wasn't like everybody else.

She thought back to the Christmases, birthdays, Easters, Thanksgivings, she hadn't spent with the Matthews simply to avoid facing Josh. The excuses she had given Riley to explain her absence. Had it been worth it?

Too late to contemplate her life choices now because Josh came striding through the door, red button up and black dress pants on and black shiny shoes to top it off. Maya had seen him look good, but she wasn't prepared for the sight of him to literally make her heart skip a beat. To make matters worse, he was headed straight for their group, taking notice of his niece and her husband among them.

"Uncle Josh!" Riley said, opening her arms for a hug.

"Riley!" he said, just like always. He handed her a gift bag. "For my grand niece or nephew. Hard to believe. 27 years old, and I'm already gonna be a Great Uncle."

Riley chuckled, and Josh moved down the line, hugging Lucas, giving Farkle and Zay bro hugs, and an awkward handshake for Smackle. They had reached each other now.

"Maya." Josh said, sadness in his eyes.

"Josh." Maya whispered. She had wanted to not show her weakness. Now it was a little too late for that.

The five other friends looked at Josh and Maya's reunion. Riley and Farkle both knew what was going on, but both believed that Maya was fine. Lucas knew enough to piece together Maya's feelings about Josh's reappearance. Zay and Smackle were living in ignorant bliss, never having been told what went down.

"Well, I'm gonna go find my mom and dad." Josh said, awkwardly making his exit.

Maya audibly let out the breath she had been holding as he walked away. She thought she had been ready to at least see him, at least say hello. She couldn't have been more wrong. Without a word to her friends, she slipped off to find Topanga.

She found her with Cory and Eric.

"You okay, honey?" Topanga said, concerned after catching a glance at Maya.

"Can't breath." Maya started. "Josh." she added in, only loud enough for Topanga to hear.

"C'mon sweetie." she said, quickly taking her shoulders and pushing her towards the door, towards fresh air.

Once outside, Maya felt her airways open slightly. Why couldn't she face him? Why was this so hard? It wasn't like he had abused her or cheated on her or anything. So why did she panic every time he was around?

"I'm fine now. I'm fine." Maya said, finally being able to take a normal breath.

"Sweetie. This isn't normal. You need to take a minute. You can't be strong all the time." Topanga said, squeezing her hand.

Maya shakily nodded her head, sitting against the brick of the building. It was something she forgot all the time: that she wasn't made of steel and nobody expected her to be.

Suddenly, both women heard the door slam open. Just her luck, it was Josh, looking as handsome, perfect, and utterly punchable as he had since that day.

"Josh, I think it's better if you just go back inside." Topanga said, as a warning.

"Please? I just want to talk to Maya. Five minutes, that's all." Josh pleaded.

Topanga gave Maya a questioning look, to which Maya gave a nod. Topanga gave her another look indicating that she wouldn't be going very far.

"Hi." Josh started, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Hi." Maya said, eyes flitting to the ground.

Memories flooded Maya's brain, as she looked at Josh. Memories that were simultaneously beautiful and horrible and perfect and wrong. Memories she couldn't afford to think about right now, but memories she thought about anyway.

 _Maya woke up to a pair of strong arms wrapped around her torso. It took a minute for her brain to remember where she was, and then suddenly it all came flooding back to her._

 _Heat._

 _Clothes coming off._

 _Pain._

 _His constant reassurance._

 _"Does that feel okay?"_

 _"Am I going too fast?"_

 _Pure bliss._

 _Maya couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She hadn't gone into last night expecting to lose her virginity, but it somehow felt right. It felt like that was how it was supposed to happen._

 _"Good morning, gorgeous." Josh said, kissing where her neck met her shoulder. It made her shiver ever so slightly. "How do you feel?"_

 _Again, a smile bright enough to light up all of New York City made its way to Maya's face. Josh always made her feel special. Josh always made her feel safe. She knew that nothing he could do would ever hurt her._

 _Maya turned over to face him, staring into his beautiful eyes. "I feel... better than I've ever felt."_

 _"I'm glad." Josh said, a smirk across his face. He pulled her in closer, kissing the lips he craved every time he saw her._

 _Maya felt her stomach do flips, as she thought about the fact that this could be what life with Josh would be like after she graduated from NYU. Waking up in his apartment, giddy after the previous night's event, eating breakfast together._

 _"I can't wait to do this all summer." Maya said, smiling as they broke apart._

 _Josh suddenly became silent and rushed to get out of the bed, insisting he make them coffee and breakfast._

Maya shook the memory away. She refused to let it cloud her thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Josh said, taking a seat next to her.

"For what?" Maya asked miserably.

"You know what I'm sorry for." he said.

Maya wouldn't let him have the satisfaction.

"No. You don't get to waltz in here after six years and say that to me. I wanna hear you say it." Maya demanded, her voice more firm than she had expected.

"I'm sorry for leaving." Josh whispered after a short pause.

Leaving. Just like her dad. Just like she had worried everyone else would. She had never thought Josh would have to be one of the people she worried about.

"You're not sorry you left." Maya said bitterly.

Just as Josh was about to open his mouth to protest, he shut it. She had him there. He hadn't been sorry for leaving. Not then at least. He had a once in a lifetime opportunity in front of him. No, he wasn't sorry for leaving.

"I'm sorry for how I left." he said, guilty. That bared a bigger resemblance to the truth.

 _"You okay, babe?" Maya asked, wrapping her arms around Josh's waist from behind, as he made coffee._

 _"Yeah, I'm fine." he said unconvincingly. Maya could hear his heart beating in his chest._

 _"Can we talk?" Maya whispered._

 _Josh cleared his throat nervously but nodded._

 _They made their way back to the bed, perching themselves on the end._

 _"Is this about last night?" Maya asked, suddenly sure of it. "Do you regret..."_

 _She trailed off. She couldn't even begin to articulate the fears and doubts she had about what had been the most beautiful night of her life._

 _"God, no!" Josh said confidently. "No, this has nothing to do with you. This is all me."_

 _"What's going on?" Maya asked, the worst possible scenarios immediately coming to mind._

 _Josh let out a sigh, not meeting her gaze. Maya grabbed his hand._

 _"Josh. Whatever it is, you can tell me." And she meant it. In her mind, nothing was too horrible to fix._

 _"You know how I told you about that internship? The really awesome one where I'd get paid and everything?" he asked._

 _Maya nodded, not understanding._

 _"I got it." Josh said dead panned._

 _"Babe! That's amazing!" Maya said._

 _His expression didn't change._

 _"What am I missing?" Maya asked, clearly confused as to why Josh wasn't more excited._

 _"It's in California. And I have to leave tomorrow." he said, again avoiding her eyes._

 _Maya felt like she had just been stabbed in the gut. Tomorrow?_

 _"How long have you known about this?" Maya asked, feeling the tears in her eyes. He didn't speak. "Joshua, how long have you known?!"_

 _"A month." he breathed._

 _Now Maya just felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her and stomped on her heart for good measure. He had known for a goddamn month, and he decided to bring it up now, the day before he left._

 _"Wow." Maya whispered, contempt in her voice._

 _Josh didn't know how to respond to that._

"Is that all?" Maya said, nastiness filling her voice.

"No." Josh said, reaching into his pocket. "When you came back later to get your stuff from my apartment, you forgot this." He handed her a golden locket, a picture of the two of them inside, the top engraved with the word, 'Someday'. Josh had given it to her on their first official date. "I've been holding onto it this entire time. I didn't want to give it back, but it's yours, so you should have it."

Maya stared at the locket, willing it to disappear into thin air.

"I didn't forget it. I just didn't want it." Maya said, not being able to hide her anger anymore.

A flash of hurt made it across Josh's face. 'I guess I deserve that.' he thought.

The pair sat in silence again, not knowing what to say anymore. The rift between them just seemed too wide to cross.

 _Maya's blood boiled. Her vision went red. She felt tears bubbling behind her eyes and a scream ready to come out of her throat. But she stayed silent. That's what scared Josh. Silence with Maya was worse than a scream._

 _"I can't believe you." she whispered._

 _"I'm sorry." he said._

 _"You're not sorry." she snipped back._

 _"I didn't know how to tell you." he said, ashamed._

 _She scoffed. "So you waited until I lost my virginity to you to butter me up? Think it would make everything okay in my book?"_

 _"No! God, Maya! Last night was one of the best nights of my life. What we did last night had absolutely nothing to do with what's happening right now!" Josh shot back._

 _As desperately as she wanted to believe him, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Why else would Josh have had sex with her? Why else would he be leaving tomorrow?_

 _"Maya, I love you." he said reaching for her hand._

 _"You don't love me." she snapped, pulling her hand away. "You wanted to have sex with me, so you could leave. That's what you wanted. You wanted to leave just like everybody else."_

 _Maya stood up, gathering her things, heading for the door._

 _"Maya." Josh said blocking the door._

 _"Move Josh." Maya said, too emotionally distraught to actually physically move him herself._

 _"Maya, please. I know I screwed up, I know I should've told you sooner, I know I should've done a lot of things. But I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry." he said, tears beginning to line his eyes._

 _"I'll be back later to get my stuff. Goodbye, Josh." she said, moving past him._

 _"Maya..." he said, a last ditch effort._

 _"You're no better than my dad." Maya said, her last attempt at hitting him where it hurt before she left his apartment._

 _Josh stood in the doorway, staring at where Maya had just been. That one. That one had stung._

"Maya..." Josh started.

"Can we please just be done here?" Maya interrupted.

This was the first really good look Josh had gotten of her since starting the conversation. But he didn't need to have more than one look to know this: he had broken her. He had broken her, and he knew that he was going to, and he was selfish, and he left. He left. He deserved to be compared to her father. There was no excuse for what he had done.

Maya didn't wait for a response before standing up, collecting herself, and going back into the building. As Topanga had promised, she stayed right there the entire time. One look at Topanga caused Maya to break down. Earth shattering sobs escaped from her throat. She couldn't forgive him. She couldn't even accept his apology. In some ways, this betrayal was worse than her dad's. Josh had blatantly taken something special and beautiful from her, only to leave the next day without bothering to tell her. As Topanga wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl, she couldn't contain her emotions any more, noises coming out of Maya's mouth Topanga didn't know were humanly possible.

Josh sat outside, crying as well, pain in his chest, as he thought about the mistakes he made six years ago.

'What a stupid, stupid idiot boy you were.' he thought.

And then he heard it. The noise. The noise coming from where Maya had just left. A mix of pain, heartbreak, and utter despair. The noise hit him right in the chest. He had caused that. He couldn't take that back.

Josh suddenly felt as if he were broken too.

 **A/N: So, yeah. That's chapter one! I hope you guys have enjoyed it! The second and final chapter will be posted very soon hopefully. What do you guys think? Should Maya forgive him? Should Maya tell him to screw off and never speak to her again? Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for reading!**

 **Au revoir,**

 **Gretchen :)**


	2. Author's Note

**Hello lovely people! And before I begin, don't worry, this isn't any bad news. :D**

 **First, thank you all for reading, favoriting, following, and commenting on this story. I've had such a fun time writing it, and I can't express how happy I am that you all are enjoying it.**

 **Second, I mentioned in the last chapter that this would be a two chapter story, but now that I am writing the second chapter, the story has shifted slightly from my original direction, and it will now be a three chapter story! That's right folks, you get two more chapters of Josh and Maya! I am super excited about the direction this story is taking, and I hope you guys will be too!**

 **Other than that, I hope you all are having fantastic days. Happy reading!**

 **Au revoir,**

 **Gretchen :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello lovely people! I am back again with Chapter 2! This one took me awhile to write because the more I wrote, the more ideas I got that I wanted to include. Which resulted in, if you haven't seen my Author's Note, this now being a three chapter story. Chapter 3 is currently in the works, and I hope to get that to you as soon as possible. As mentioned in the first chapter, the main six are 24 years old, and Josh is 27. In flashbacks for this chapter, Maya is 17/18, and Josh is 20/21. Anything in italics is a flashback. And I'm happy to say that this time the flashbacks won't all be depressing as hell like last time! And last, but certainly not least, this is a pretty long chapter, so enjoy! :)**

Twenty minutes later, both Maya and Josh were back at the party. Deliberately avoiding each other wasn't hard at a party of this size.

"Are you okay?" Farkle questioned. "You seem kind of distracted."

"I'm fine. Just been a long day." Maya said. And it had been.

Every chance she had, Maya slipped away to the bathroom. It gave her a few fleeting moments to be alone with her thoughts. In a weird way, seeing Josh had lifted a weight off her chest. It had been bogging her down for six years that he left, and now it didn't feel like such a looming part of her past anymore. But it also added to the pain a million times over. Wounds were meant to stay closed, not reopened for the sole purpose of pouring salt into them.

Her fifth trip to the bathroom was when she finally noticed it. The entire time since she had talked to Josh, she had had her old locket in her hand. She brought it up to the light and ran her fingers over the engraving. 'Someday.' That had been their mantra since the day at the Mount Sun Lodge. That had been what Josh decided to engrave into the locket.

She opened up the piece of jewelry and looked at the inside. It hadn't changed. The picture of her and Josh, bundled up in their winter coats, holding hot chocolate, absolutely beside themselves with happiness, looking like nothing could ever change that, was still there. It had been captured on their six month anniversary by a kind stranger willing to take their picture.

Maya felt her throat constrict. She had to do this. She had to.

Unclasping the locket, Maya pulled her hair back and latched the necklace around her neck. Her heart beat faster, as she felt its weight on her chest. It felt just like it always had. It felt just like the first time she had it on.

 _"I have a surprise for you." Josh said, reaching into his pocket._

 _"Do you now?" Maya said, a smirk making its way to her face._

 _It was the pair's first official date. Maya was 17 at the time. With permission from both Shawn and Katy, Josh had decided that it was time for them to finally do something couple-y. After all, they had admitted years ago that they liked each other, and the feelings on both sides hadn't changed. Josh knew he couldn't cross certain boundaries, but to him, it hadn't mattered. He didn't want Maya for that. He wanted her because no one else could make him feel the way she did._

 _Josh pulled a box out of his pocket._

 _"You didn't have to get me anything, Josh." Maya said, pretending to be annoyed._

 _"Actually, I did. Open it." he said, handing over the box._

 _She did. Inside was a locket, heart shaped, golden. Engraved on the outside was the word 'Someday'._

 _"It's beautiful." Maya whispered. "It must have cost you a fortune."_

 _"Don't worry about that." Josh said, taking the locket from the box._

 _He pulled her hair back, clasping the necklace around her neck._

 _"Someday, you can put a picture of us in there, and then I'll always be close to your heart." Josh said, smile wide._

 _Maya couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, Boing, you were doing so well, and then you said the cheesiest line you could've possibly come up with."_

 _Josh laughed at that. "It was pretty bad, wasn't it?"_

Maya literally shook her head. If she kept thinking, she would only think of what had happened after that, and it would tear her apart more.

She looked in the bathroom's mirror. She hadn't even realized she had begun to cry. Not the earth shattering sobs she had earlier, but enough that it would be noticeable later on.

"Peaches? Are you in there?" she heard Riley call from outside. "I'm giving a speech soon, and I'd really like you to be there."

Maya splashed cold water on her face, tucked the necklace into her dress, and opened the door.

"Right here." Maya said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

The pair made their way into the main party hall, and Riley walked to the front of the room where Lucas already stood waiting. Maya made her way over to Farkle, Smackle, Zay, and their respective partners.

"Attention everyone!" Lucas called, clinking on a glass with a fork. "Riley and I would like to say a few words."

Lucas smiled at his wife, turning it over to her.

"First, I want to say thank you all for coming. It means the world to Lucas and me that all of you came out to support us during this very exciting time." That got some claps from the party.

"Second, there are some people I need to thank. First, I have to thank this guy right here, my husband, Lucas. Without his help, we wouldn't be here, so thanks sweetie." The crowd chuckled at that.

"Next, I need to thank my parents and grandparents who have been just absolutely incredible during this process. From helping pay for things, taking me to appointments, or just being there for me when I really needed a hug, they have been absolute saints, so thank you so much. I love you all!" Cory, Topanga, Amy, and Alan all blew kisses at Riley from their seats.

"And my last thank you is going to my best friend, Maya. Maya practically planned this party all by herself, and I cannot thank you enough for that. I love you, Peaches!" Maya accepted the applause she got from the party but felt awkward being praised by so many people. It was not something she was used to.

"To conclude this little speech, I wanted to say a few words. I don't know what's going to happen today, or tomorrow, or ten years from now. All I know for certain is what I'm feeling right here and right now. And I'm gonna tell you, I feel terrified. I constantly feel like I'm going to make a mistake or do something I'm gonna regret. I feel like the world might turn upside down if I'm not careful. But I also know this: we have this one little life, and we can't be afraid to live just because we're scared of what we might find. We can't put up walls because we're afraid of getting hurt. I can't be afraid I'm not going to do my best for my child just because I'm scared of the unknown. I have to face my fears in order to truly live my life. I have to face each day as it comes and learn from my mistakes. I can't live in the what ifs or the might've beens. All I can do is focus on the now. That's something I hope you guys take with you today, and something that I will be teaching my child its entire life. And I know that with all of you here, supporting me and Lucas, things are going to turn out just fine. Thank you everybody! Enjoy the rest of the party!"

As the party guests clapped, Maya's eyes scanned the room. It didn't take long for her to find Josh among the masses. He was wearing bright red after all. Even though Riley's speech had been about her and her child, the words resonated with Maya.

'I'm done living in the what ifs and the might've beens.' Maya thought to herself.

As confidently as she could muster, Maya made her way across the room to Josh. She refused to let her heart beat faster. She couldn't let her throat close. She wouldn't back down this time.

"Hey, can we talk?" Maya whispered to Josh, as she approached him.

The way Josh jumped at her voice, you would've thought she had screamed at him.

He couldn't cover his shock, as he said, "Sure."

Maya led him out into the hallway, far enough away for privacy, but close enough to the party to make a mad dash away should she change her mind.

Josh waited expectantly, hands in his pockets.

Maya tried to articulate what she wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out. Looking at him here, in this light, with his hands in his pockets, dressed to perfection, was enough to make Maya forget everything she rehearsed in her head.

 _A knock on her apartment door was the only indication Maya needed to know that Josh had arrived._

 _"Come in, Josh. Maya! Josh is here!" Katy called to her daughter._

 _Maya took one last look in the mirror. Graduation robe, check. Hat, check. Tassel, check. Now all she needed was the ceremony and her diploma, and she'd officially be a high school graduate._

 _"Coming!" she called back._

 _Maya bounded into the main room of her apartment. Before she could even reach her front door, she stopped, breathless. Maya had seen Josh look good, but this was a whole other level. His blue button up fit him in all the right places, the khaki pants tight but not too tight, the shoes shined to perfection._

 _"Well look at you, handsome." Maya said, flirtatiously making her way over to her boyfriend of almost a year._

 _"And look at you, my gorgeous graduate." he said, pulling her towards him by the waist._

 _"The two of you! Picture!" Shawn called, grabbing his camera._

 _The pair smiled at the camera, ecstatic. Maya couldn't get enough of the feeling of Josh's arm around her waist._

 _"Okay! Let's head to the Matthews'!" Katy said excitedly._

 _Shawn and Katy headed out first, while Maya and Josh lingered behind. Josh tucked a piece of hair behind Maya's ear, cupped her cheeks, and pulled her in for a kiss that melted her insides._

 _"I didn't want to do that in front of your parents." Josh said, smirking as he pulled away, playing with the tassel on her hat._

 _"C'mon, you two." Shawn said, suddenly back in the doorway. "I know all your little tricks. You can't fool me."_

 _Maya and Josh chuckled, grabbing the other's hand. This. This is what life was supposed to be like._

"I… I can't do this." Maya said, snapping back to reality.

Maya made a mad dash for the door back to the party.

"Maya…" Josh said, grabbing her hand without thinking.

Maya audibly gasped at feeling of his hand. The pair stayed silent for a moment, not knowing what to do, the feeling of each other's skin incredibly foreign yet wildly familiar. Maya gulped, as she decided her next move.

"If you're not gonna talk, can I?" Josh asked, whispering.

Maya nodded, not being able to concentrate when his hand was touching hers.

"I know it doesn't make any difference. I know it doesn't change anything I did six years ago. But I truly am sorry. I left you, and that was selfish and wrong and just plain horrible for me to do. If I could take it back, I would. I would've told you sooner, or told you before we had sex, or gone after you, or something. I don't know what I would've done. But I know I wouldn't have done what I did. I was a stupid, idiot 21 year old who thought he had his life all figured out because I had a girlfriend and an internship and a future, and that nothing would ever ruin it. I was wrong. I know I was wrong, and I wish I could take it all back. Maya, leaving you the way I did is quite literally the biggest regret I have ever had and ever will have. I'm sorry. I loved you, and I hope you know that. I am so, so sorry." he said, looking into her eyes the entire time.

 _When Maya told Josh that she had gotten into and planned to commit to New York University, she had expected a reaction. She just hadn't expected a reaction that got them into their first official fight._

 _"Do you just not want me to go to NYU, is that is?" Maya said, exasperated._

 _"I never said that!" Josh said back louder, becoming more frustrated every time he talked._

 _"Then what?! I don't get it, Josh! I don't get you!" she yelled._

 _"Fine! You know, what? You're right! I don't want you going to NYU! You happy now?" Josh screamed, letting out a huff of breath before running both hands through his hair._

 _Maya felt her body shake. "You don't?"_

 _"No. You wanna know why?" Josh said, still somewhat on edge._

 _Maya didn't want to know. She knew he would tell her anyway._

 _"You got into your dream school, Maya. You got into the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. That's where you wanted to go. That's where you've always talked about going. And I feel like if you went to NYU, it would be like..." he trailed off._

 _"Be like what Josh?" Maya insisted._

 _"It would be like me holding you back." he said, finally articulating his fear._

 _"How would you be holding me back?" Maya questioned._

 _Josh struggled for words, worried about her reaction if he had assumed wrong._

 _"I'm not a dummy, Maya. I know I influenced this decision, even if it was only a little bit. But I feel like... I feel like if you go to NYU, you're giving up on this dream you've had for years, and you're letting some idiot boy like me influence that. And I don't know if I can live with that, Maya." he finished, finally letting it all out._

 _"That's why you don't want me to go?" Maya asked, quietly._

 _"That's why I don't want you to go." he said, looking her square in the eye._

 _She believed him. He couldn't look her in the eye when he was lying. She believed him._

Maya felt her heart beat in her chest. She believed him. He wasn't lying to her or manipulating her. She believed him.

"Maya?" he questioned, quietly.

"What?" she replied.

"Why have you let me hold onto your hand this entire time?" he asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

Maya's heart fluttered. She looked down at their hands, still interlocked from when he stopped her from running back inside. She had asked him the same thing at the ski lodge nearly ten years ago.

"I don't know. I don't know everything." she said, allowing herself to play into the game he created.

The pain in Josh's chest lifted. The Maya he knew and loved was breaking through the shield she had created. Maya dropped his hand, as she began to speak again.

"I don't know everything, but I do know this." Maya started. "Thank you for telling me all of this. I accept your apology, I do."

Josh's smile widened.

"But I can't forgive you. Not right now at least. You leaving messed me up in ways I didn't even realize until today. There's still a lot of work I have to do on me before I can even think about letting you or anyone else into my life in that way. You hurt me a lot, Josh. And I'm still feeling a lot of that pain everyday. And I think one day I could forgive you, but today's just not that day. I'm sorry." she said, very sure of herself.

"You don't have to be sorry. I completely understand." Josh said, upset but understanding.

"So here's my deal." Maya said.

"Go for it." Josh whispered.

"I live my life, you live your life. I know you're out there, and I'm out there too. And if in the end, we end up together, it's beautiful." Maya said staring into his eyes.

"That's your deal?" he said, tears forming in his eyes.

"That's my deal." Maya said, inhaling deeply before doing what she knew was her next move. "Someday?"

She held out her hand for him to shake.

"Someday." he choked, letting a tear fall, as he shook her hand.

Maya exhaled shakily, as she stared at their interlocked hands. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She would forgive him someday. She knew that in her gut. She didn't know when or where or how long it would take her to get there, but someday it would happen. Hopefully, it would be beautiful.

The pair looked up at each other, making fierce eye contact. Both of their faces had turned red with tears. Without even thinking about it, Josh pulled Maya into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Maya hesitated before squeezing her arms around his waist.

She breathed in his scent. He smelled like coffee and strawberries, just like he always had, bringing back ten years worth of memories.

The pair stood like that for what seemed like ages, just relishing each other's embrace and touch, knowing it would be awhile before that happened again.

As they broke apart, Maya pulled the locket out from under her dress.

"You know you'll always be close to my heart, right?" she asked.

He chuckled, "You know, Hart, you were doing so well, and then you said the cheesiest line you could've possibly come up with."

She laughed as well. "No matter how many times we try, that line will always be bad."

Maya and Josh wiped their eyes and made their way back into the party. With a final glance, the two of them split, Josh headed for his brothers, Maya for her friends.

"You okay? You look like you've been crying." Riley said, concerned.

"I'm good. Really good actually." Maya said, suddenly realizing it herself.

"Good, I'm glad." Riley said with a smile.

They sat in silence for a moment before Maya said, "Riles?"

"Peaches?" Riley replied.

"Thank you for inviting Josh. Seriously, thank you." she whispered with a smile.

"You're welcome." Riley said, confused but happy to see her best friend okay with him being here.

"You ready to head out, kiddo?" Cory said, coming up behind the girls.

"Yeah, let's go." Riley said, with a smile. She laced her fingers into Lucas's with one hand and grabbed Maya's with the other.

It had been decided earlier on that after the main party, Riley's parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and best friends would go back to the Matthews' apartment for their own personal celebration.

All of those involved in the after party headed out, piling into the cars they had taken to arrive. It quickly became apparent that because Cory, Topanga, and Auggie had taken the subway to the venue, they were suddenly one seat short in the three cars they had counted on being available.

"I'll just take the subway and meet you guys there." Maya said, the only one not yet in a car.

"Here mom." Josh said, handing her his car keys. "You guys drive my car, and I'll take the subway with Maya."

"You don't have to do that, Josh." Maya said.

"Actually, I do." he said, his mind already made up.

Topanga shot Maya a look, silently asking her if she would be okay. Maya nodded as her response.

"Then it's settled." Zay said, starting his car's engine. As everyone drove off, Maya and Josh walked silently towards the subway station.

The two of them spent most of their walk to the station in a comfortable silence.

"Hey, remember this place?" Josh said suddenly, startling Maya away from her thoughts.

Maya looked up to where Josh was pointing. It was a small ice cream/coffee shop, tucked away from the busy New York streets. Not a popular joint, but one Maya had always been fond of for one reason in particular.

"That was where we had our first date." Maya said with a remembering smile.

"God, I was so nervous." Josh said with a breathy laugh.

"Yeah, remember you spilled your coffee all over yourself?" Maya said laughing at the memory.

"I had burns on my legs for weeks." he said, cracking up.

The two fell into an easy laughter and then another silence. Maya glanced back up at the shop and and then again towards Josh.

"Do you think Riley would mind if we stopped here for a bit?" Maya asked.

"I don't know." Josh answered quietly.

Before she could change her mind, Maya took out her phone and composed a text to Riley.

 **From: Maya**

 **To: Riley**

 **Josh and I might be a little late to your house. We had to make a slight detour on the way. Shouldn't be too long. See you soon. Love ya, Honey. 3**

Maya's phone buzzed just as quickly as she sent it.

 **From: Riley**

 **To: Maya**

 **Okay! No problem! Lucas and I are staying at the apartment until 9, so we've got plenty of time. See you soon. Love you too, Peaches. :)**

Maya put her phone away and reached for the shop's door, holding it for Josh.

"After you."

 **A/N: So there you have it! Chapter 2! I wrote it, and I still got my Joshaya feels all in a tizzy. My lord, why am I doing this to myself? XD I am super excited about the ideas I have for the conclusion of this story, and I hope to see you there! Any guesses as to how it will pan out? As always, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thank you so much for reading! See you soon!**

 **Au revoir,**

 **Gretchen :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: So wow. I am the definition of awful and made you guys wait actually forever without this final chapter with literally no excuse except that I got busy, got writer's block, and lost motivation because of that. But to hopefully make it up to you, I made this chapter SUPER long. As a reminder, italics are flashbacks. In the present, Maya and the gang are 24, Josh is 27. They are varied ages in the flashbacks this go around. And without further ado: the third and final chapter of Girl Meets Baby Shower! :)**

It had always struck Maya as odd how smells, sights, and sounds could suddenly bring back memories, not forgotten, but left untouched in the deepest part of your brain for many years. Like, when she saw a purple jellybean, all she could think of was Riley and Lucas, and how Riley had been so excited to show the jellybean to her after the ski trip ten years ago. Or how when she heard the hum of a refrigerator, she thought back to when she pressed her ear against her Spanish test on the Matthews' fridge to give Riley a bit of encouragement.

Or how when she smelled coffee, ice cream, or the combination of the two, she couldn't help but think of Josh and their first date.

The smell of the shop hit Maya so hard, it was almost blinding. Very little had changed in the six years it had been since she'd been there. They had replaced the old rickety chairs with new padded ones, added some pictures to the wall, and replaced the ancient books on the bookshelf with more recent editions, but beyond that, it remained the exact same way Maya remembered in her mind. Even the smell. Especially the smell.

The two of them got in line, many inches separating them, back to the state of nervousness they had been in not long ago.

"Your usual?" Josh asked when they got to the front of the line.

"Sure." Maya said, surprised that he still potentially knew her usual order.

"A medium caramel macchiato for me, and a large iced coffee, three creams, two sugars, for the lady." Josh told the girl behind the counter while pulling out his wallet.

Before Maya could comprehend it, Josh had already taken out his money and was preparing to give it to the girl behind the counter. Enough to cover both of their drinks.

"Josh, let me pay for mine." Maya said, reaching into her purse.

"Maya, I've got it." Josh insisted gently.

Maya reluctantly let Josh handle the money.

"You're a good boyfriend." the girl behind the counter said, smiling.

Maya felt her cheeks turn red.

"Oh... I'm not... We're not... We're just..." Josh stuttered.

"We're just friends." Maya interjected.

"Oh." the girl behind the counter said, seeming disappointed. "Well, you're a good friend."

 _It was Josh's 19th birthday._

 _Amy and Alan had decided to throw Josh a surprise party, inviting tons of friends and family. It had been Maya's job to keep Josh distracted for the day, as everyone knew any of the Matthews, but especially Riley, wouldn't have been able to keep the secret for the whole day._

 _By the time Maya finally got the text to bring him to the secret location, she had already taken him ice skating, taken him to lunch at her favorite burger joint, gone shopping at six different stores to try on ridiculous hats and shoes, gone to a park, and "gotten lost" around eight different blocks._

 _When she said there was one last stop, she practically had to drag him there, as he complained about the amount of blisters now donning his toes._

 _"One more. I promise." she said with a smirk._

 _The pair took the subway to the restaurant everyone had the party set up at._

 _"Why are we here, Maya? This is, like, a five star restaurant. You and I couldn't even get in, let alone pay for it." Josh complained._

 _"C'mon. Farkle left something here the other day, and I promised I'd pick it up for him." Maya said, going with the plan._

 _"Hello. How may I help you today?" the host asked._

 _"My friend, FARKLE MINKUS, called the other day about something he lost. I'm here to pick it up." Maya said in a voice that was anything but discrete._

 _The host smiled at Maya, gave Josh a sly look, and gestured to follow him._

 _"Right this way." he said, walking towards the back of the restaurant._

 _'Farkle Minkus' was the code word that told the host that this was Josh and Maya. While Josh just assumed they were going to look in a lost and found of some kind, Maya knew that they were really heading to his surprise party._

 _The host opened the door to a dark room._

 _"Right this way." he said, gesturing inside._

 _Maya and Josh made their way into the room, Maya leading._

 _"Maya, where are we..."_

 _Josh's question got cut off as the lights came on in the room and his friends and family jumped up, yelling, "SURPRISE!"_

 _Josh's face flooded with confusion, joy, and shock as he took in the scene. His eyes gleamed, as he recognized his friends and family waiting in the room. He turned to Maya._

 _"You little ferret." he said. But there was a huge smile all the way across his face._

 _"Gotcha." Maya said, smirking._

 _Immediately, he pulled Maya into his chest, hugging the living daylights out of her, lifting her off the ground in the process._

 _After he put her down, he immediately went to his friends and family, hugs all around, his smile never once faltering. Maya watched in admiration and pride. In a huge way, she had been an intricate part of putting that beautiful smile of his on his face._

 _After he had hugged everyone, the party began with a steak dinner, Josh's favorite. The way the party had been set up, Josh got to sit at a table with four of his close friends, Riley, Maya, and Auggie, and it just so happened that Maya got to sit next to Josh. Whether that was intentional or not, Maya was never quite sure._

 _"Maya, right?" one of the girls at the table asked the blonde._

 _"Yeah." Maya replied, taking a sip of her soda._

 _"I'm Audrey." the brunette said. "I just wanted to tell you that you're awesome for keeping Josh distracted all day. He's so serious about his schooling and his job and his life that I'm surprised he could be distracted by anything."_

 _Josh chuckled and jokingly said, "She's a keeper."_

 _Audrey seemed slightly taken aback. "Oh. Oh, I didn't realize... Wow."_

 _Maya and Josh exchanged a questioning glance._

 _"I'm sorry. You didn't realize what?" Maya questioned._

 _"Oh. I just didn't realize you two were a couple, that's all." Audrey said like it was no big deal._

 _Josh nearly choked on his food. Maya stopped in the middle of chewing her vegetables._

 _"Oh... We're not... We're just... Long game... Not yet... It's... Um..." Josh stuttered, looking for the right words to explain the situation him and Maya were in._

 _"Sorry to disappoint, Audrey, but Josh and I are just friends." Maya said, a friendly smile going across her face._

 _An apologetic look came across Audrey's face. "Oh. I'm sorry. Oh, God! I just made things really awkward, didn't I?"_

 _Maya chuckled. "No, you're totally fine. I promise."_

 _"All good here." Josh said, cutting his steak._

 _"Oh, good." Audrey said, breathing a sigh of relief. "But you'd be a good one. A couple, I mean."_

 _Maya and Josh exchanged a giddy glance._

 _Yeah. They thought so too._

"So what have you been up to? It's been awhile." Josh asked once they were seated in their usual corner booth.

"Yeah... yeah. Um, I graduated from NYU and got an apartment with Riley. We stayed there for a couple of years while I was working at this really cool art gallery. That was mostly a transitional job. Now I work for an art magazine." Maya said, sipping her drink throughout.

"That's awesome, Maya. I knew you'd do something like that. It's great that it all worked out." Josh said, playing with the rim of his cup.

"Thanks. What about you, hot shot? What have you been up to?" Maya asked. She quickly regretted calling him hot shot. She meant for it to come out sarcastically, maybe even a little snarky. Instead, it sounded like she was trying to flirt.

"Um, yeah. Well I went to the internship. That lasted a year. I stayed in Cali for about another year after the internship before coming back to New York. Now I have a job at a company here doing marketing, but I bounce back and forth between here and Philadelphia a lot." he said.

"That's cool." Maya said, distracted, her eyes looking away.

The silence that followed was deafening. Beyond catching up, neither knew what to talk about. Maya instantly regretted coming here. She should have just gone back to the apartment. At least there, she'd have other people to talk to as well as Josh.

"I have a question." Josh finally said, gripping his coffee cup.

"I might have an answer." Maya said, leaning back, putting distance between them.

"Where do you think we'd be if I hadn't left?" Josh asked, apprehensively looking her in the eye.

Maya felt her mind go blank, not because she hadn't thought of it before, but because she had never been forced to answer the question out loud.

"I don't know." she said, looking down at her coffee.

Of course she knew. They'd be together, maybe engaged, maybe even married. They'd wake up every morning and kiss each other until they couldn't afford to stay in bed anymore. They'd drink coffee and take the subway together and have double dates with Riley and Lucas. They'd try on goofy hats and eat spicy food and never have a doubt about the other. They'd sing at the top of their lungs, no matter how bad it sounded. They'd be together. They'd be in love.

But he left. Now they were nothing but two perfect strangers.

"Maya..." Josh began.

"Why does my answer even matter, Josh?" Maya snapped, her defenses from earlier in the day suddenly coming back, all the progress they had made lost. "My answer isn't going to change the fact that you left."

Her snippy reply shut him up. He knew there was no reasoning with her. He knew that possibly better than anyone. So he just breathed a sigh of disappointment and said, "Fair enough."

In the silence that followed, Maya couldn't help but think back to all the times that Josh or somebody else had tried to get the two of them back together over the years. The one that stood out most prominently in her mind was Riley and Lucas's wedding.

 _"Riley! It's time to go!" Maya called, ever the Maid of Honor._

 _"Coming!" Riley called back from the other room._

 _Maya pulled at her purple dress, trying to get the bow in the back to sit right._

 _"Smackle! Ava! Come get your flowers!" Maya yelled. She couldn't help it. She wanted her best friend's wedding to be perfect with no stress on Riley's shoulders at all. Too bad that meant that all the stress was now on her's._

 _Smackle and Ava ran in and grabbed their bouquets while Maya scrambled to put on her necklace. "Go find the boys and get in position. Riley and I won't be far behind."_

 _The two scrambled out as she made sure she had everything. Dress: check. Headband: check. Flowers: check. Everything seemed in place._

 _"Your bow's undone." a voice from behind her said, startling her back to reality._

 _Maya turned around in the mirror, not even bothering to look at who had said it. They were right._

 _"Shit." Maya swore under her breath, fruitlessly attempting to re-tie it herself._

 _"Maya, relax. I've got it." he said. It was only at that point that Maya connected the voice to Josh. She immediately froze, but he was already working on the bow before she could tell him no._

 _As she felt the final tug of the bow, Maya and Josh looked at each other in the mirror. This was the first family event in three years that they had both been present for. Neither one would have forgiven themselves if they had missed Riley's wedding just because of their problems. But that didn't mean this wasn't uncomfortable._

 _"I... I gotta go check on Riley." Maya whispered._

 _"Maya..." he started._

 _"Save it, Josh." she replied, rushing back to Riley's room._

 _As she entered the space, Maya couldn't help but tear up. Her best friend was beautiful, radiant. She looked like the human embodiment of the sun._

 _"You ready, Riles?" Maya said, handing her her flowers._

 _"Ready as I'll ever be, Peaches." Riley said, her smile just as radiant as the rest of her._

 _"Okay. Let's do this thing." Maya said, grabbing her friend's hand as they headed towards the courtyard where the ceremony was being held._

 _"Was that Uncle Josh I heard in there earlier?" Riley whispered to her best friend._

 _"Yeah. So what?" Maya questioned, slightly irritated._

 _"So?! You can get back together!" Riley whispered, excitedly._

 _Maya scoffed. "You're crazy if you think that's happening."_

 _Riley frowned, and said, "Oh."_

 _They had reached the entrance at this point, where Ava and Auggie and Smackle and Farkle were already paired. Maya linked arms with Zay, as Cory took in the sight of his daughter in a wedding dress._

 _"You good?" Zay asked, taking in Maya's anxious demeanor._

 _She could see Josh in the courtyard from where she was standing. He was chatting up one of their friends. Typical. He didn't miss her._

 _Maya forced a smile to her face. "Never been better. Let's have a wedding!"_

 _The wedding went off without a hitch, of course. The vows were heartfelt and witty, tears were shed all around, and the newly pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Friar looked absolutely ecstatic the entire day._

 _Maya was trying to have as much fun as she possibly could (which was still a lot), but she was beginning to get irritated by all of her friends "accidentally" pushing her in Josh's direction._

 _Whether it was Farkle deciding they absolutely needed champagne while Josh was at the bar, Zay shamelessly shoving Maya into him on the dance floor, or Smackle making note of just how hot he looked all night, Maya had just about met her wit's end._

 _Finally, she found all of them together on the dance floor and marched right up to them saying, "Bay window! Bay window, right now!"_

 _"There's no bay window here," Zay stated obviously._

 _"I don't care!" Maya sneered._

 _The friends looked amongst themselves as Maya marched out of the ballroom. They knew it was pointless to argue with her._

 _After they had all found a quiet place to talk by the bathrooms, Maya immediately started ranting. "Look, I know what you're all trying to do, and I don't appreciate it."_

 _"What are we trying to do?" Lucas questioned._

 _"I know you're all trying to get me back together with Josh!" she said, flailing her arms. She immediately softened after seeing the look on Riley's face. "Look. I don't wanna ruin your wedding with my drama, Riles. This is your day. So if you all could stop pushing me toward that lying idiot, I would really be indebted to you all."_

 _Riley suddenly looked disappointed, but not because of Maya supposedly 'ruining her wedding'. "There's not even a chance of you guys getting back together?" she asked with hope in her eyes and voice._

 _Maya scoffed. "I'd prefer it if I never had to see him again, thank you very much."_

 _Having forgot they were by the bathrooms, the door to the men's room opening startled them all. And just their luck, it was Josh who had just opened the door. Maya mentally kicked herself._

 _"Josh..." Riley said desperately._

 _"She never wants to see me again," he said, trying to sound nonchalant but failing. "I got the message. Loud and clear."_

 _As he walked away, Maya felt her chest constrict. That was what she had wanted, right?_

 _Right?_

Maya looked down at her nearly empty drink. Having lost all desire for it, she stood up and started walking towards the door. The bell on door rang as Maya started walking towards the subway. She suddenly couldn't be in that place any longer, lost memories swirling together into the picture of a broken relationship in her mind.

"Maya! Maya!" Josh called, running down the New York sidewalk after her.

By the time he reached her and turned her around towards him, tears were streaming down her face, choked sobs coming from her mouth.

"Maya, why are you crying?" Josh asked, nothing but love and concern and his voice.

"I can't do this, Josh." she sobbed.

"What can't you do?" he asked desperately.

"I can't sit around here acting like everything is fine between us because it's not, Josh! It's not!" she said, trying to not let the words come out in hysterical sobs.

Before he could change his mind, Josh wordlessly grabbed her hand and pulled her along the New York streets. She didn't even have time to protest. Josh was a man on a mission.

After a few blocks of walking, he stopped and pointed. "Do you remember that place?"

Maya stopped and squinted into the sun at where Josh was pointing. She felt a mix of a sob and laugh bubbling up in her throat as she stared it awe. "Yeah. I remember."

"It's where I first told you I loved you," Josh said, walking towards the art installation.

Following him, Maya said, "And then it started raining. But we took it as good luck. Like rain on..."

"A wedding day," he finished for her, turning to look at the beautiful girl beside him.

"Why did you bring me here?" Maya whispered, still staring straight ahead.

"I'm not asking you to forget the past, Maya. Because forgetting the past would mean forgetting stuff like this too. And that would suck," he said with an awkward laugh. "What I'm asking for is to be a part of your life again. In whatever way you're comfortable with."

Maya took a shaky breath. Still not meeting his gaze. "It's so hard, Josh," she breathed. "You broke me. For so long."

Josh unexpectedly grabbed her hand. "Do you remember what I told you after you told me you weren't sure you could love me back? Because of your dad?"

Maya smiled in spite of herself. "You said that broken people are meant to healed by the people who love them."

"I still believe that. And I still love you. More than you'll ever know or believe. Please give me a chance to show you that," he said hopefully.

Maya closed her eyes for a brief moment and breathed in the air. She could feel her defenses falling again. However instinctive her walls were, it was becoming exhausting hating him and being afraid of what could be. The words 'someday' and 'today' swirled around in her head, suddenly becoming words that meant the same thing.

And then she felt it. A rain drop. It was slow and steady at first. And then came the downpour. The two couldn't help but laugh.

"Like rain on a wedding day," Maya said with a smile.

With a last look at the art piece, the pair ran towards the subway station, the heaviness of their conversation leaving them. It was as if the rain had washed away the negativity between them, leaving them with a new world of possibilities. Anybody watching them on the subway to the Matthews' apartment would've thought they were fast friends. Or a couple.

Finally, they reached the beloved Greenwich Village apartment. After calling up to their family, they rode up the elevator, giddiness radiating from both. Having reached the door, Maya pushed it open and was immediately met with her best friend.

"Bay window. Bay window right now." Riley said the second Josh and Maya entered the apartment.

Maya smiled and followed her best friend down the hall. Despite Riley's old room now being a guest bedroom, the two girls still considered this bay window their spot, and nothing could ever change that.

"Spill it." Riley said.

"Spill what? There's nothing to spill." Maya said, unconvincingly.

"Maya. I know." Riley said.

"Know what?" Maya asked, confused.

"I know you weren't okay with him being here today. I know you better than anyone, Maya. Did you really think I believed you when you said you were over it? That it was 'water under the bridge'?" Riley said incredulously.

Maya stayed silent until it hit her.

"You brought him here on purpose." Maya stated.

"I did." Riley said with a little smile.

"You made this a party for guys and girls just so you could invite him." Maya said quicker, realizing Riley's plan.

"Oh, you know it." Riley said, her smile wider.

"You little schemer." Maya said, impressed.

"I'll go back to being a chump now." Riley said, proud of herself.

"Don't." Maya said with a smile. "I don't give you enough credit, do I?"

"I don't know. Did things work out? Spill it. You and Josh?" Riley said, excitedly.

"Someday, I think," Maya replied, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Riley sighed contentedly. "Then I did my job."

Maya looked at her best friend. Her adorable, loving, scheming best friend who deserved a prize. A trophy. Anything. Because she had done the impossible. She had gotten Maya to open back up to Josh. She had gotten her to look him in the eye and confront him for what he did. She had gotten her to _almost_ forgive him.

"Thank you." Maya whispered, the most genuine of smiles crossing her lips, eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"What are sisters for?" Riley replied. She held out her hand. "Thunder."

"Lightning." Maya replied, putting up her hand as well.

They clasped hands, and together, "Forever."

"Well, we should probably get back out there. Lucas and I still have two big announcements." Riley said, slyly.

Maya cocked an eyebrow, intrigued, and followed her best friend out of the bedroom.

"Attention. Attention everyone in this apartment." Riley called dramatically. Maya chuckled at her crazy best friend. "Lucas and I have an announcement to make!"

"Well get on with it, you two." Cory said, sitting next to Topanga. "I'm not as young as I used to be. I need sleep!"

Everybody smiled as Riley took Lucas's hand. "We would like to announce... that we're having a girl!"

Everybody in the apartment audibly gasped, ecstatic to be welcoming a new little girl into the family. Maya's eyes glittered, as she hugged her friends.

"We would also like to announce the name." Lucas said, lovingly looking at his wife. "Take it away, Riley."

"Well, after much debate, Lucas and I have decided to name our little beauty Violet **Maya** Friar." Riley said, grabbing Maya's hand.

Maya was in shock. She couldn't believe the words that had just come out of Riley's mouth. The rest of the voices in the room drowned out, as she gave Riley the biggest hug imaginable. That baby had her name as a part of hers, a reminder that everything the girls did, the other would be a part of it. The happiest of tears rolled down Maya's cheek.

As the family celebrated, Josh's work phone buzzed persistently. He looked upset by what he read.

"Well family, I'm heading out." Josh said, reaching for his coat. "Apparently I've got an early morning tomorrow." He gestured to his phone, annoyed, wishing he could stay to celebrate with his family longer.

"Thank you so much for coming, Uncle Josh." Riley said, her voice filled with glee. Only Maya knew what the glee was really for.

"Of course, Riley. I had a wonderful time." Josh said, equally radiant.

Josh went around giving hugs to his brothers and sister, Topanga and Auggie, his parents, and finally Riley's friends. He and Maya had reached each other.

Josh hesitated, not knowing how to say goodbye to her. With little hesitation, Maya made the move herself, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug, his arms encircling her waist.

Topanga audibly gasped while the rest stared on in awe, joy, or a mixture of the two.

Josh inhaled deeply, happy tears filling his eyes. Things weren't completely fixed. Some wounds still needed stitching, but they had finally gotten closer to healing. He had missed the feeling of Maya against him so much, it hurt.

The pair pulled away from each other, realizing suddenly how much of an audience they had.

With a shaky breath, the pair looked at each other for an extended moment.

"Till next time?" Josh asked quietly, a hopeful smile spreading across his face.

Maya thought about the 'next times' her words could potentially promise.

The next time they saw each other.

The next time they held hands.

The next time they hugged.

The next time they went on a date.

The next time they kissed.

The next time they made love.

Was she willing to put herself on the line? Make the promise of a potential 'next time'?

"Till next time." she replied in a whisper.

She watched him head towards the door.

'Yes.' she thought. 'Yes, I am.'

Maya found herself, for the first time in six years, being okay with the idea.

"Oh, Uncle Josh!" Riley said, startling Maya.

"Riley?" he questioned, stopping in his tracks.

"Before you go, Lucas and I have a question for you. Well a question for you and Maya." Riley said, grabbing Lucas's hand.

Maya and Josh exchanged a glance.

"We wanted to know if you guys would be our daughter's Godparents?" Riley asked, a hopeful gleam in her eye.

Maya felt her heart swell. Josh's smile widened to a size Riley didn't even know was possible.

"Absolutely." Josh said.

"Are you kidding? Of course." Maya replied.

"Lucas and I can't think of a pair of people we love and trust more than you guys, so we know that if anything were to ever happen to us, Violet would be in good hands." Riley said, lovingly rubbing her stomach.

"What about us?" Zay asked, jokingly offended.

Lucas and Riley chuckled. "Don't worry guys. You'll be next." Lucas promised.

Josh and Maya shared a glance. Godparents. They couldn't contain the smiles on their faces.

"Well, family! I gotta head out. I love you all, and I'm sure we'll be seeing each other very soon." Josh said, as he headed out the door finally.

The way Josh had said, "we'll be seeing each other very soon", left Maya's brain in a whirl. The he said it, it sounded like it was just for her.

Ultimately, the family decided it was time for cupcakes. The older adults gathered in the living room, as the six friends and their spouses convened in the kitchen area. As Maya licked pink frosting off of her cupcake, she sat down by her best friend and nudged her arm jokingly.

"You little schemer." Maya whispered to Riley as they ate.

"Hey, nobody said a baby's Godparents have to be together. My Godparents are Uncle Shawn and Aunt Morgan." Riley said, innocently biting into her cupcake, pink frosting covering her lips.

"You're still a little schemer." Maya said, scrunching up her nose jokingly at her best friend.

"Oh, you know it." Riley replied, putting some of the frosting on Maya's nose.

As Maya walked home that night, she couldn't help but feel like the giddy school girl she had been when she first started liking Josh. She had forgotten how exhilarating it was to be around him. She had forgotten how much she loved him.

As she pulled out the key to her apartment, she bumped into somebody standing on the sidewalk.

"Oh, I'm so sor..." she cut herself off, as she looked up. There was Josh, holding a bunch of roses in his hand.

Maya stood there, mouth agape, not quite sure what to say.

"I thought you had an early day tomorrow." she said breathlessly.

"I made it up." he said, the smirk growing on his face by the second. "I had a little help from Riley."

Maya rolled her eyes. "The text from 'work' was from Riley, wasn't it?"

"Well, technically it was from Zay, but it was all Riley's idea," he replied.

The two stood facing each other in the cold New York air, so many things on their lips, but no words to say them.

"Maya." Josh started.

"Josh." she whispered back.

"Can someday be here already? I'm kind of dying over here." he said, a tear coming to his eye.

Maya scanned his face. It was the most sincere she had ever seen him in her life. There was still a long way to go, but she was done fighting it.

"Yeah." she said, the biggest of smiles crossing her lips.

With boyish glee, Josh tossed the flowers down to the ground, grabbed Maya's cheeks, and kissed her with every ounce of passion he had. He felt like crying. He was crying.

Maya melted into him, crying as well. Now that they were kissing, she never wanted to stop. She felt like she was 17 again, kissing him for the first time.

As they broke apart, Josh whispered, "I'm so sorry. For everything."

Maya shook her head, her tears freely flowing now. "No more apologizing. Only hope from now on."

And as he kissed her again and again and again, she couldn't help but feel like Violet Maya Friar's Godparents would end up being together after all.

 _"If you could take anyone to a deserted island with you, who would you take?" Josh asked Maya, as they laid on his bed._

 _Without even thinking, Maya replied, "Riley, duh."_

 _Josh chuckled, but turned to her, a glimmer in his eye as he said, "And that is why I love you so much."_

 _"What? Why?" Maya asked, looking up at him._

 _"I love that you know where your loyalties lie," he started, staring into her eyes. "I love that you love your friends and family. I love that Riley will always come first to you, as weird as that sounds. And I love that you'll always be honest about it with me."_

 _Maya giggled and kissed him on the nose. "I'm so glad that me loving you less than Riley makes you love me more."_

 _"Well when you put it like that," Josh replied, absentmindedly running his fingers up and down her arm._

 _Maya shivered and snuggled closer to him, absorbing his warmth. It was conversations like this that both filled her with love and excitement but also scared the living daylights out of her._

 _"Josh... What if we're not together forever?" Maya said._

 _"We will be." he insisted._

 _"And what if we're not?" she questioned back. "You saw what happened to Farkle and Smackle, and Darby and Yogi, and what almost happened to Riley and Lucas... What if this isn't forever?"_

 _Josh sucked in a deep breath. Even after a year of being in a relationship, he still couldn't quite figure out how to convince his girlfriend of the one thing he knew in his heart. "It will be. No matter what happens, I will always come back to you. Even if there are bumps along the way, no love story is perfect. Those problems are gonna be what make us the couple we are. Those obstacles will just bring us closer together in the end. Nothing could ever make me stop loving you." he stated, more sure of it than anything else he had ever said in his life._

 _Maya's face lit up, as she heard him talk. One of her small smiles came to her lips, "And nothing could ever make me stop loving you."_

 _"Not even if I screw up big time?" Josh asked jokingly._

 _"Not even then." Maya said with an even bigger smile._

 _As Josh smiled, he wrestled Maya into the bed, planting kisses all over her face. She laughed hysterically before finally bringing them both to a stop._

 _"This is really what you want?" Maya asked, trying to put the last of her doubts to bed._

 _"For my whole life." Josh said. "I'm in it for the long game."_

 _"Long game." Maya whispered with a smile. "Yeah. Me too."_

"Long game?" Maya asked, as they broke apart.

"For my whole life." Josh said, still holding Maya to his chest.

A small smile formed on Maya's lips.

"Yeah." Maya started. "Me too."

 **A/N: So, there it is! The final installment! Thank you so much for staying with me even though I sucked at finishing this. Your comments and favorites mean so much to me. Hopefully, I will get some more stories out there in a more timely manner next time. Much love to all of you, and I hope you loved the story as much as I loved creating it (even if it took longer than expected). See you in my next story!**

 **Au revoir,**

 **Gretchen**


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